i want to start knitting - where do I start??

[Loulee]

eally want to start knitting but haven't a clue where to start / can anyone recommend any good books? or what I should knit for good results fast? I'm quite impatient but keen to get going...
is a scarf going to bore me to death? How did you get into it? Inspiration please

Hi Loulee!

I learned how to knit on www.kittinghelp.com. I think that's a easy way since you can find videos there and you can actually see what she is doing, how to hold the needles.

Good Luck! If you need any help let me know!
Welcome to the knitting world!

Do a scarf first, so that you can get a handle on the correct hold of a needle and gettingthe stitches right before you have to deal with things like increases and decreases. Otherwise your head might feel like exploding and you'll want to give up before you've begun.

Go to a really lovely wool shop
Touch all the wools
Give yourself a generous budget and buy three balls the same of whatever you fancy, at least
Go home and google the yarn's name
See what people have been making with it, on blogs, mainly
Start simple - if you don't want to do a scarf, what about a simple bag?
Or a small cushion: you can get small inserts in John Lewis for a few quid (I have done this for presents)
Tip: buy bamboo needles instead of metal, they're much more tactile and don't clack whilst you watch tv

ooh great! am all excited now and am going to start tomorrow. wool shop here i come!

Welcome to knitting. Did you have spare time? You won't now

A lovely book is the original Stitch'n'Bitch by Debbie Stoller. It's funny but technically very good and has ace patterns. If you are stuck for any of the american yarns in it just ask on Mumsnet.

Also if you can get to a big newsagent (or even Tesco) there are a couple of knitting monthly magazines that usually have a "get started" pull-out, try to find "Simply Knitting". Do not be tempted by "Let's Knit" despite the DVD, it's new and i don't think they have ironed out the mistakes yet.

enjoy it!!! and second pruners advice - buy some wool you really really like and go from there.

hey thanks laydeez - I'm half way through my lovely scarf - and looking forward to my next project.
have been nosing through all the knitting / crafty blogs - and AM IN AWE! some really amazing and inspirational sites.

so what next after a scarf???? bit mor challenging but not too slow?

A bag? A straight up and down tank top, that will give you some practice on increases etc.
Have you tried browsing the free pattern sites, there's loads of stuff on them and usually they give you an indicator of which skill level you will need to be to have a go.
I have to confess I've dabbled with a bit of lace knitting and I thought it was quite easy. I'll look, there's a thread on here that lists the free pattern sites.

Right here there is a nice list of free pattern sites.